19 July 2019, Friday
Today we will explore the Fundy Trail Parkway, New Brunswick’s answer to California’s Highway 1. The parkway winds along the ridge tops overlooking the bay. The route is supposed to be completed by 2022, although when I mention that to a New Brunswick resident, he snorts and says it was supposed to have been finished by this year. The fee for entering the highway is $17 for two seniors. There are many lookouts and trails to walk along the way. Of course, my trail walking is currently quite limited. It is all I can do to hobble over to the lookouts. Still, the winding, steep and narrow road is beautiful. Cars with trailers are able drive the road with caution.
O and I stop at many of the parking areas. At the flower pot stairs he climbs down to grab some photos while I wait at a shaded picnic table on the ridge. Bird song abounds on this warm, breezy, sunny day. The weather is perfect! We stop at Fox Rock Lookout, Fownes Head Lookout, and Fuller Falls where another tourist takes our photo. At the Interpretive Center Lookout we view the mouth of the Big Salmon River. From many of the viewpoints we can see the multiple ridges lining this north shore of the Bay of Fundy that make the Fundy Footpath such a difficult hike. We are also able to see Martins Head, a major landmark along the Fundy Footpath. Near the end of the 1.5-2 km piggyback with Greg, we were just above and east of Martins Head. I had a great view from his back, but it wasn’t exactly a time for photographs. Currently the Fundy Trail Parkway is 30 km long.
When we reach the last stop at Waltons Glen Gorge we turn around. There is a steep trail from the parkway down to the gorge at this stop. Had we been able to continue our hike, the trek up the Little Salmon River to this gorge would have been a highlight.
By the time we arrive back in St. Martins, the tide is in and the sun is shining on the sea caves. We return to the B&B. Barb, one of the owners, has been looking for a newspaper article she saw about my rescue. She hasn’t found it yet, but will keep searching. Dinner is excellent once again. I return to our room to rest my crutch-weary shoulders and continue typing my blog.
(Interesting note about the Bay of Fundy: An estimated 100 billion tons of water move in and out of the Bay with each turn of the tides, more water flow than all the rivers of the earth put together, and enough weight to actually deform the land!)